Here he comes… (Birth Story)

Wednesday

We finally came home with our new blessing! All of us have fallen in love with him, especially his older brothers. I’m excited to share today’s post about our newborn son’s birth, and a few helpful ways on how to get through the pain of labor and delivery. So let me begin before my baby wakes up. 😉

An appointment

Earlier this month, my doctor told me that she wanted to schedule an induction for me because I was expecting to have a big baby (much bigger than my two older sons). I had a bad experience with induction from my first pregnancy. I was given Pitocin, an induction medication, which caused me a lot of pain and discomfort. I also felt the staff were in a hurry when I was given it. That is why I asked about stripping membranes or membrane sweeping. This is what I had done with my second son. I’m thankful that my doctor was cool and respected my decision. On the morning of my child’s birth, around 9am, I had the membrane sweeping done. It caused me to have more Braxton Hicks contractions and spotting afterwards. I heard that sometimes this method doesn’t work too. That’s why I kept praying that the membrane stripping would lead to a strong contraction and I’d start going into labor.

The plan

I had been telling my husband for the past few months that I wanted to stay at home for most of my labor. In the afternoon, I felt such strong Braxton Hicks contractions that I needed to do some breathing to ease the discomfort. I was still hesitant if they were real or not, since I had experienced false labor over the weekend. I began timing the contractions, but felt I’d rather do something to distract myself, like laundry or chasing my kids. 😉 Around 4:30 pm, I texted my husband who was at work, about my strong Braxton Hicks contractions. He told me to tell him whenever I wanted him home, so I decided to time how many minutes apart my contractions were. At 5pm, I counted 7-8 minutes apart. Thirty minutes later, it became 3-4 minutes apart… This was when I felt I was getting sick, so Brent decided to leave work. I tried distracting myself between contractions by making dinner for my two toddlers. At 6pm, the contractions were 3 minutes apart. In my head, I was like, “Where are you Brent!?” lol I felt a little worried, but having the kids around distracted me from the pain. When Brent finally got home, I headed straight to a warm shower, which helped a lot during contractions. Around 7pm, we started prepping to head to the hospital. We contacted our good friend who picked up our kids to take care of them. She and her husband are amazing!

My contractions became stronger, so my breathing made me sound like a cow! Haha! Brent said, “We need to go. That’s how you sounded like before.” However, I said to Brent that I could still handle it, and that I bet the contractions were only 4 cm. I started to lay down on my side on the bed, and grabbed Wilson, my tennis ball. I also grabbed one of the Bible verses I wrote on a piece of paper. When our friend arrived, it was time to say goodbye to my boys. I wanted to be emotional, but with so much pain, I didn’t have time to cry. lol

The drive-thru

Brent had been supportive of my decision to stay a little longer at home during labor, but I decided to go to the hospital since I felt he was getting worried seeing me in pain. It was dinner time and I knew it would be a long night for both of us, so I told Brent we needed to get food as we hadn’t eaten dinner yet. It’s a good thing there was a Whataburger close to the hospital. We went into the drive thru, and ordered burgers and chocolate malts (malts are like shakes). When Brent was picking up the food at the window, I remember him telling the girl working there, “My wife is having a baby. She’s in labor.” I heard the girl was like, “And why are you picking up food?!” My husband answered, “Well, she wants to!” Yes, I totally did want to! Oh, boy! Drinking a cold, sweet chocolate malt powered up my body between contractions! That was the best decision we made that day! Sweets sometimes do good for the body, right? 😉

At last, we made it to the hospital and parked far from the entrance, so I needed to stop while walking a few times during my contractions. I was like, “Where’s the wheelchair??” Brent wanted to make sure the door was open so he left me for a few seconds to check. The strong contractions cams again… I wanted to lay down on the sidewalk, but there were a few people around and I didn’t want them to call 9-1-1 thinking I needed emergency care. Haha! Thankfully, Brent came back quickly.

You got this far

It was around 8:30 pm when we reached the labor/delivery room. I was already on the bed having contractions continuously saying to Brent that I thought I was only at 5 cm, and that we were too early. Then, one of the nurses checked my cervix and saw how far along I was; 8 cm! The nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural, but before I answered, one of the other nurses (her name is Dyana and she took care of me all through night) suddenly said “You already got this far!” That made me feel confident and so I said “No, thank you” to the epidural. During the strong contraction, I knew that at anytime I could be pushing so I asked my husband to get a few things for me inside my hospital bag. I asked him to pick a Bible verse that says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” and a couple pictures of my family. They really helped me mentally.

Here he comes

After just a few minutes, I could feel that I was ready to push… It was so painful and so I screamed, “Aray ko po!!!” I realized no one could understand the words I said because it was in Tagalog. I screamed again, “Ouch! It hurts!! I’m ready to push!” The doctor came in and the nurses became busier, preparing for me to deliver the baby. Brent was so helpful, staying beside me and guiding by breathing pattern. In the 5th contraction, I did the last push and finally, out came our precious son. All the pain was worth it when I held him!

It is the best and most unforgettable feeling to experience giving birth to a baby. Even though this was my third time giving birth, it felt like it was my first. This was the first time that I didn’t ask for an epidural when I reached 8-9 cm. I often asked them in the end from my previous deliveries, but with the help of God, my supportive husband, and people who inspired me to do a natural birth (sister-in-laws and my Houston friends), I finally made it. I’m actually surprised how it was less painful than I thought it’d be. Maybe it’s because this was my third time, but I’m pretty sure it was less painful than taking Pitocin. I was also surprised how the recovery after delivery was not as hard as I thought. If you are an expecting mom or planning to give birth one day, here are the things that helped me get through the pain:

Breathing – Brent was really good at teaching me how to breath the right way when I was in labor. He told me to take a deep breath, hold it for 4 seconds, and breathe out for a few seconds.

Wilson – He wasn’t another man! Haha! Wilson is a tennis ball! I’ve been using it since I had my first son. I liked squeezing it as much as I could when my contractions came.

Bible verses (find them here) – I have a good friend from church who lent me this book that talks about Bible verses for labor and delivery. She gave me the idea to write them down and bring them me to the hospital. I stuck the paper beside my bed and would read a Bible verse when a contraction came. I closed my eyes and kept saying the verses inside my mind. It really amazed me how God’s words are so powerful. Praying and reading Bible verses for this kind of situation really works! You can totally feel His power through these scriptures.

Visualization – On the way to the hospital when I was having contractions, Brent told me to picture that I was by the ocean and seeing big waves. There were many times in the delivery room as well that I visualized that Christ was standing beside me wearing white clothing… I know it might sound weird to others,but it is truly effective to think about Jesus during painful times. There was a point when I thought about how Christ sacrificed himself and the pain to he went through for us. I also thought of someone I know who is in need and imagined that all the pain I experienced during labor was an offering to God, so that he would help that person repent, and change his heart.

Labor at home – It’s good thing that we live only a few minutes away from the hospital so I could do most of my labor at home. There are a lot of things I could still do there, rather than staying in a hospital room. If I had been in Manila during labor, I don’t think I would’ve been able to stay at home longer or I’d end up giving birth in the middle of a traffic jam. 😉

Thank you again to those who helped us out from the beginning of my pregnancy; family members, church friends, Brent’s co-workers, our Houston friends, Filipino friends, and mom bloggers I have met on social media. You all are blessings to us! Have a great weekend ahead! I’m now off to take a nap…

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Welcome to Hello Island Mama! I love to share about motherhood, makeup, DIYs, home styling and faith. Based in Houston, Texas. Originally from Philippines. Thank you for your time to read and don't forget to subscribe above! - Em

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13